Flu outbreak hits students in Ashe County

ASHE COUNTY, N.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) - A flu outbreak is Ashe County Schools has district leaders warning parents. Plus a local hospital is closing their doors to vistors.

Parents tell FOX 46 Charlotte over one fourth of Ashe County Middle School was out sick Wednesday, and that number is growing across the district. School leaders have now detailed a plan to attack the outbreak.

Teachers are stepping up to sanitize computers, desks, doorknobs, and toys while the flu is hitting students hard.

As for buses, the transportation department is loading school buses with Clorox wipes. Custodians are focusing on disinfecting all areas, especially bathrooms and the cafeteria, according to Ashe County Schools.

Meantime Iredell Memorial Hospital is also taking action to stop the flu from spreading. The hospital says they will not allow teens seventeen years old and under to visit patients starting next Friday. They’ve already seen 50 cases of the flu in the past six days.

According to the CDC, twenty nine people have died in North Carolina and twenty one have died in South Carolina from the flu this season.